Changing Thymes is one of my favorite cookbooks and is compiled by the Austin Junior Forum. The Austin Junior Forum is an organization who’s objective is to create a greater interest among young women in civic and educational fields. This is the third cookbook of collected recipes published by this organization. The other two cookbooks were titled Lone Star Legacy and Lone Star Legacy II.

I’ve made several recipes from this cookbook in the past and they have never disappointed my family and this time was no different. I made “Savory Meatballs and Rice”, as well as “Triple Corn Bake”. My husband and I really liked the meatballs and rice and I will definitely make them again. The corn bake was good, but I felt it needed a little something. It was somewhat bland to me, but this is coming from a girl who loves her food spicy. I’m sure most people wouldn’t feel the same way. I made two changes to the meatball recipe but followed the corn bake recipe exactly. First, for the meatballs, I used canola oil instead of vegetable shortening for browning in the skillet. Second, I used cream of celery soup instead of cream of mushroom soup because my family doesn’t like the taste of cream of mushroom soup. We really enjoyed this meal and I hope you will too.

Savory Meatballs and Rice

Savory Meatballs and Rice

1 cup uncooked regular rice

1 pound ground beef

¼ cup dried breadcrumbs

¼ cup minced onion

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 small clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon vegetable shortening

1 (13 ¾ oz.) can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

½ cup chopped tomatoes, drained

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tabelspoons soy sauce

Dash of black pepper

Prepare rice according to package directions. While rice is cooking, prepare meatballs. Combine ground beef, bread crumbs, minced onion, egg, and garlic. Mix well and shape into 1 ½ inch balls. Sauté meatballs in vegetable shortening, browning on all sides. Drain on paper towels and drain excess grease from skillet. Return skillet to stove and add soup, tomatoes, brown sugar and soy sauce; stir well. Add meatballs back to skillet. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover, simmering for about 20 minutes until meatballs are done. Serve over rice.

Triple Corn Bake

Triple Corn Bake

1 (16 oz.) can cream style corn

1 (16 oz.) can whole kernel corn, undrained

1 (8 oz.) package cornbread mix

1 cup low-fat sour cream

¾ cup melted butter

Combine all ingredients into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Pour batter into a 13X9-inch greased baking dish. Bake at 350F, uncovered, for 30-35 minutes.

One response to “Changing Thymes”

Kim – I made the savory meatballs and rice…very good and very tasty. Only problem the meatballs were falling apart but still was yummy and all the fam loved it! Want to try that Italian chicken next, looks good. Love ya, Shirley